The annual Junior Softball World Series, a Little League International event, drew thousands to Kirkland’s Everest Park last week, including the nationally televised final on Saturday between Florida, of the Southeast region, and the Philippines, of the Asia-Pacific region, on ESPN. And while Florida dominated, winning the championship 9-2 and completed the tournament undefeated at 7-0, there were some surprises that came from this year’s competition.
“Over all, it has gone very smooth,” said tournament director John Chadwick. “There was a big discrepancy between the top teams and the other teams this year on the field but it has been fun for all the players.”
Florida scored in double figures during all but two games and won each of its first four games by 10 runs or more, including two shutouts.
In all, the World Series hosted 34 games from Aug. 2-8.
One of the biggest additions this year was the Little League Challenger Division exhibition game. The Challenger teams are made up of young players with physical or intellectual challenges. Chadwick said that one of his organizers has a big part in developing the division in the Puget Sound area.
“Little League is trying to give the Challenger Division more exposure and we thought it would be great to have them,” Chadwick said. “It was hugely popular. I saw people in the stands with tears in their eyes. It was a good experience.”
The success of the exhibition could lead to an annual place in the Kirkland event said Chadwick.
An unexpected health issue also made for a tense situation early during the tournament for one of the coaches but luckily it turned out well. Language barriers can be an issue at times during the World Series games, as the 10 teams that qualified are from all over the world. Mexico was one of the only teams to have just one person fluent in English. That coach suffered a mild heart attack at the beginning of the week and was rushed to a hospital, leaving the team without a translator. But Chadwick said that the language barrier was not a big problem, as the girls tend to bond during the week and helped each other through the difficult issues.
After a short stay and a few tests the coach showed how important the competition was to him and his team.
“He had a heart attack but he is right back in the dugout,” said Chadwick on Aug. 6, as the Mexican team took on the Philippines during the quarter finals.
One of the reasons the tournament went so soothly is the performance of the host team. This year a team from Bellevue won the Washington District No. 9 championship.
“I loved talking with the girls from the Philippines,” said Bellevue starting pitcher Hanako Hirai, 13. “We had a lot of fun and they were all really nice.”
Bellevue coach Allen Cabales said that this was the first Bellevue team in seven years to play host and just the second overall. A team from Kirkland qualified to host each of the past three years.
“At times it is overwhelming but they really bonded with the teams from the Philippines, Latin America and Holland,” Cabales said. “They just had a lot of fun.”
Bellevue did not qualify for the championship bracket, finishing the week with a record of 1-5. Bellevue defeated the Philippines.
“It really surprised me just how far everyone could hit,” said Bellevue player Ren Wantanabe, 14.
The host team always has the disadvantage of taking a month off, while the other teams play games all the way through the month of July and are warmed up heading into the tournament.
“They are just sitting on their gloves for a month and practice is not the same as good competition,” Chadwick said.
The week-long tournament brings approximately 6,000 people to Kirkland, along with the national exposure from ESPN.
